I made this American flag pallet last year but never got around to showing it on the blog. I used it to mark my gate for our 4th of July party since rural driveways tend to look pretty monotonous. It’s much easier than “2 farms after the farm with all the cows” or “look for the crooked willow that bends to the north”.

(It just occurred to me how badly I need to make a permanent gate marker with my address. I’ll add that to the to-do list.)

I’ve been so busy getting ready for this year’s party that I didn’t have time to sew much or write last week. Luckily I had these pictures from last year; hurray for finally writing a blog post!!

It was the easiest thing to make and I had all the supplies. I’ve seen a million of these on Pinterest and had to make my own American flag pallet. I used leftover paint and an old kitchen sponge for the stripes. The stars were free handed with a tiny kids paintbrush. Whatever works, right?

Trust me, you do not need to be crafty to make this. You could paint any flag really, show team spirit, or design a pallet for every holiday.

I’m really excited for our party. Last year we had a pretty good turnout, and I bet we have more people this year. I’m not going overboard on decorations, but I do think that bright colors and festive displays set the atmosphere. If I have time I’ll show you some of the other ideas we are copying off Pinterest. But then again, I said that last year! I have a 4th of July board on Pinterest if you’re interested. I also have a party ideas board that you might like.

(This is really a gratuitous post, where I show you a few hair bows I’ve been making for my little cousin’s baby. Mackenzie is still in the oven, but when she enters this world we are prepared to decorate her head.)

Check miss Mack’s bows, then scroll down to see how to stiffen hair bows with one awesome product.

How To Stiffen Hair Bows

Can I tell you how much I hate floppy bows? Wimpy bows are a travesty, they really are. Meet my new best friend, clear acrylic spray.

I used Krylon clear acrylic spray. There is an entire family of acrylic spray finishes. Gloss, matte, satin finish, uv protectant…I’d like to experiment with some of those but for now I can tell you that this is my secret weapon against sad bows.

I advise spraying the whole bow once your ribbons are put together, but before you add bottle caps or feathers. It really helps keep tulle stiff. Plus, it seals in glittery ribbon and glitter dots, like the bow center above. Hurray for no more sparkles falling off your hair bows!

If you need some of this in your life, I’d love it if you shopped my Amazon affiliate link. You won’t pay any extra. Anything you buy will send a few pennies my way, and I’d be much obliged :) That link will take you to a page of acrylic sprays to choose from.

(Rustoleum and Mod Podge have similar sprays and I haven’t tried them yet. I’m pretty sold on Krylon.)

Above is a hair bow pre-acrylic. Do you see how the striped loopers are flopping around? My bows are gonna behave, now.

I saved my favorite bow for last, this one says Cowgirls Rule. Never a truer statement, y’all.

Mackensie’s mom is my cousins daughter, and I think that would make me a technically third cousin which doesn’t sound very official to me. So I’m calling myself her aunt. Don’t you think?

Today I’m helping kick off the second annual Dia De Los Muertos Tour hosted by Melissa at Rebel & Malice! Be sure to check out the tour schedule & giveaway at the bottom of this post!

I love The Day Of The Dead, a day to honor lost loved ones. The colors and festivities celebrate the lives of our loved ones who have passed away.

Last year I showed a Dia De Los Muertos dress & fascinator I made for my niece. This year, my daughter gets a fun ribbon streamer clip. She’s too cool for an entire themed outfit, so this is perfect for my little girl.

For my contribution to the series, I thought I’d show you how to make this easy hair accessory.

Here’s my Dia De Los Muertos hair clip tutorial!

Gather your supplies. To make this look you’ll need: an alligator clip (the kind with a hole), the skinniest satin ribbon you can find, some little satin flowers, rhinestone mesh, about 5″ of 3/8″ wide grosgrain ribbon, and a sugar skull cabochon.

I have used bits of broken jewelry or buttons in the past, and often find dollar store goodies that I can use for hair accessories. Anything goes.

Begin by looping your ribbon streamers through thelittle hole in the clip. I used 2 strands and kept them long for my daughter’s hair. Ribbon streamers are fun because you can wear them loose, tie then into your ponytail, or braid them into your hair.

Cover your metal alligator clip with the grosgrain ribbon strip. Start on the inside of the clip and work your way around. Be sure to heat seal the ends of you ribbon.

Decorate the top of the clip, starting with your cabochon or resin. I reccomend E-6000 glue, but hot glue works too. Day Of The Dead is all about bright colors and flowers; especially marigolds. Position flowers near the crown and surrounding the sugar skull’s head. Cover any remaining ribbon with rhinestone mesh, Hot Fix crystals, or some type of fun embellishment.

That’s it! It’s super easy to make a hair clip like this for any occasion. Here’s the Dia De Los Muertos Tour schedule, I hope you get a chance to visit some of these amazing blogs.

Don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter. There will be a small giveaway for a copy of the DVD “The Book of Life” and a copy of the book “Rosita y Conchita” by Erich Haeger and Eric Gonzalez. They are not affiliated with this website or giveaway.

Due to the nature of the giveaway, the book and DVD will only be available to residents of the United States and Canada. There will be a separate giveaway for any digital items such as PDF patterns or gift cards.

Oh you guys, it’s been a crazy month, already! Last week was my daughter’s first homecoming ever. It was so fun! We’re sort of sad that football season is almost over.

I made each cheerleader customized homecoming bows, assembly line style. These aren’t ordinary girls, so I didn’t make ordinary bows. No two are the same, but all have lots of goodies on them. Guess what my new secret weapon is? Nail charms…the little gems and things that nail techs use for manicures! I ordered mine on Amazon. Click my affiliate link there to see pages of nail charms.

It was my first year as a cheer mom. I was a dance mom for a couple years and it was okay, but cheer mom is right up my alley. Now I know about Pinktober and homecoming stuff, so next year I’m going to be ready. Below you can see (sort of) the Pinktober cheer bows I made the girls for breast cancer awareness. They also wear long pink socks and pink pom poms. None of the pinks match, which offends my obsessive controlling nature…but it’s very cute nonetheless. I’m going to try to insert myself as an official wardrobe manager next season…if the moms and coaches will put up with me. I will match them from bow to toe and glitter or bedazzle anything that can hold glue.

Also please admire my first ever flower bouquets. I wasn’t real sure how to make them, but I found a corsage and boutonnière tutorial at Diana Rambles and she made it look easy. For $20 I made a dozen of these. I can get a lot more stuff with more time to compare prices and bargain shop. I have big plans for 2016 bouquets, with nail files and polishes and lip gloss wired in. They’re gonna be insane.

While I’m writing, I have to brag about my town. When I moved here I knew it would be a great place to raise my daughter. The dynamic is even more than I could have hoped for though. It feels like the whole town revolves around the kids. We have parades and dances and make up any excuse we can to keep them busy and active. At football and cheer practice it’s not uncommon to see every parent in town. High school football games practically create traffic jams on Friday nights! There are always people who complain about one thing or another, but coming from a big city to a small town like this…I can appreciate what we have. One year ago today I was praying to get away from big city life, and He answered. Praise!!!

I’m working on lots of things but I’m all over the place. Selfish sewing, doll clothes, hair accessories, destashing-I’m not sure what to even write about first. But I’ll be back soon with something or another:)

It seems like I’m always the last to know the secrets of hair bow makers. There are styles and trends just like any fashion, and it’s hard to keep up. These days, flat bottle caps are in. I couldn’t think of an easy way to flatten my boring regular bottle caps, then fellow bow maker told me the trick.

How To Flatten Bottle Caps

A tortilla press. Boom.

I started with my small tortilla press. I have a little helper here to demonstrate just how easy it is.

Just like that! And by the way, flattening 50 bottle caps was a ton of fun for my nephew. Who knew it would free me up long enough to write this post?

Later, I got out my larger tortilla press with a handle. The extra leverage made it easier. I tried flattening several caps at once, but the pressure wasn’t enough. I reccomend one at a time.

If you don’t have a tortilla press at home, look for an old fashioned metal one. If you don’t have a little tienda or Hispanic market close by, you can order from my Amazon link. If you click it, it will take you straight to a page full of tortilla presses.

How to flatten bottle caps isn’t a big secret, I just didn’t know how. I hope somebody finds this post one day and does a forehead slap though- I sure wish I knew sooner! On another note…

Hair bow making is a very saturated market. As a result, a lot of techniques are jealously guarded secrets. Most of the time I’m just guessing how to make things look a certain way, so I was thrilled to death to learn this trick. I like sharing what I learn, but there’s a bit of debate about it. Many believe that giving away trade secrets increases competition and is bad for business.

A good ribbon wholesaler gives you a huge edge for competitive pricing, so I understand wanting to protect your sources. As far as skills…There are people who are going to buy hair bows, and people who are going to make them. There are certain things I don’t ever aspire to make. Dinner, for example. Frozen burritos will forever have a customer in me. Sometimes it seems like there’s a lot of fuss when there needn’t be. I’ll share tips with people who want to make bows, and make bows for people who want to buy them.

Is the competitive dynamic the same in sewing? I’ve never sold my sewing projects so I’ve not experienced it. Maybe it’s the same way with every craft & trade. Thoughts?